The Wrasslin' Pay Windah

[Subtle Mocking]

RIP Mae Young :(

Wanted to edit this, but yeah, she's not dead yet. Keep fighting, Mae!

RE: Ryback, I don't think he'll be around much longer anyway because he always gives off that air of being fed up with the place, but in the meantime, why not stick him on commentary for one of the B shows?

[Sandow]

Excellent to hear that NXT will also be available. I wonder if potential wider exposure will affect the content?

In answer to my own question, apparently new episodes of NXT will now air live on the Network starting from 27 February. It'll be interesting to see if and how this changes the dynamic of the show.

[Ja'moke]

It's only the Feb 27th show that will be live. The rest will be taped as usual.

[Sandow]

It's only the Feb 27th show that will be live. The rest will be taped as usual.

Oh right, the report I read didn't mention that.

[onthebeach]

Speaking of concussions, I tried watching some of the product from Attitude Era product and...most of it's pretty difficult to get through. Not from a quality perspective, but come 00/01 almost every fucking match involves some form of foreign object and every other match features some sick bump which makes me wince. I'm amazed that wrestling fans - and wrestlers - managed to convince themselves that unprotected chair shots weren't borderline fucking lethal. Bret Hart used to say that wrestlers learned how to take them, and they weren't dangerous on that basis. Like what the fuck? You're smashing someone in the fucking face with a hard plate of metal. Ergh.

By degrees, that's the principle of wrestling - learn how to take the move but expect pain anyway. I think Bret used to take em more on the back?

[Ja'moke]

Oh right, the report I read didn't mention that.

To clarify the news that WWE will be airing NXT live on February 27th, it appears as if the plan will NOT be to air the show live every week thereafter, but only the February 27th event, which will be a one-time live NXT special.

After that show, WWE will go back to taping NXT as they normally do, and as of now there are plans to tape the show on January 30th. The episodes coming out of that taping will likely air on February 12th and 19th, with the live special then airing on the 27th.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/443755-update-on-wwe-nxt-airing-live

They've announced Bo Dallas vs Adrian Neville in a Ladder Match, and Sami Zayn vs Antonio Cesaro in a 2 out of 3 falls rematch for the live show. More exciting than the Royal Rumble card!

[Subtle Mocking]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/443755-update-on-wwe-nxt-airing-live

They've announced Bo Dallas vs Adrian Neville in a Ladder Match, and Sami Zayn vs Antonio Cesaro in a 2 out of 3 falls rematch for the live show. More exciting than the Royal Rumble card!

Christ, that sounds better than some of the matches we'll get for Wrestlemania. Zayn and Cesaro could put on another 5-star match.

[up_the_hampipe]

Ryback tweeted that he's been released from WWE then quickly deleted it. If he's fucking with people, then I'll officially be a fan. If he's actually be released, ah well I'll get over it.

[vrailaine]

Wow, what did he tweet? That seems like something the corporation would be kinda furious about.

So, WWE network... is it only me or does it seem kinda underpriced? Some sort of bonus charge for Wrestlemania, like, $9.99 per month and then an additional $10 for Wrestlemania seems like something people would have happily agreed to, would have been about the same cost as Mania last year too. I've no clue what they can do to keep people on board for... Night of Champions?
Also, supposedly the deal is that they're only gonna be able to show the 90 minute version of Raw on it and will plug the hell out of Raw on it the whole time. PPVs are basically gonna become things to pop the Raw rating for the next night.

I dunno...

[Moribunderast]

Also, supposedly the deal is that they're only gonna be able to show the 90 minute version of Raw on it...

That sounds about perfect. Edit out the filler and the show might be watchable.

I don't watch the current product that often, aside from NXT, and even I'd consider paying $60 for 6 months access to all ECW, WWF and WCW PPVs, current PPVs and whatever other stuff they chuck on there. It is quite underpriced but I think it has to be to get a big base of customers in on the ground floor. I'd expect Wrestlemania will not be on the network in subsequent years and they'll likely dripfeed more and more of their video library to keep people hanging out for things like Mid Atlantic and whatever other old TV shows they have access to. I'd adore a chance to watch 80s NWA on a weekly basis, as I've never had much exposure to it but hear that it was a highpoint in televised wrestling.

Really, this network, if done right, has far more ability to bring in lapsed fans than any current wrestler they could push. Bring people in for easy and cheap access to nostalgia, maybe they start checking out some of the essentially free current PPVs they're getting? And of their current fanbase, anyone who orders more than 1 or 2 PPVs a year would be foolish not to hop onboard for 60 dollars - with the price of Pay-Per-View going through the fucken roof, that's a steal.

[Ja'moke]

Do you think it also increases the UK's chances of getting a proper PPV? If people are already subscribed to the WWE Network then they don't need to worry as much about buyrates being effected because of the time difference.

[Moribunderast]

Hey, I live in Australia - we haven't even got so much as a Raw yet![nb]As far as I'm aware.[/nb] I did attend the Global Warning show that can be found on Youtube and around, with the Main Event of HHH vs. The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar, so I can't really complain though.

It's a fair point, though. Why not take one of the B-PPVs and hold it in England? If folks in the States have the network, then they can watch it whenever they want on the same day, so you'd think it wouldn't affect PPV-parties and what-not. And, as you say, there's less to worry about with buyrates, as they'll likely be totally dead for the B-PPVs once the network is properly up-and-running.

[up_the_hampipe]

Wow, what did he tweet? That seems like something the corporation would be kinda furious about

They can all still be seen on his superstar page, he seems to be addressing a bunch of his Internet rumours http://www.wwe.com/superstars/ryback

[Unoriginal]

Hell of a final segment even though it seems they rushed through the storyline a bit. If Bryan isn't winning the title at Mania, the company is a farce. He is by far the most over guy in the company and is getting reactions from crowds not seen in WWE for a long time. Do what's best for business Vince.

Ultimate Warrior being inducted into the HOF should be fun. I can't wait for his speech.

[spanky]

Hopefully he doesn't pull a Bret Hart and appears at Wrestlemania itself too. Ideally with warpaint on, no-selling the pedigree.

[Subtle Mocking]

So that Hogan and Warrior vs. Real Americans match could probably happen then. Woooo.

[Unoriginal]

Looks like the rematch nobody asked to see, CM Punk vs Triple H, is going to happen at Mania. Can't wait.

[Subtle Mocking]

All that I'm really expecting for Wrestlemania now is Bryan getting a WWE Title shot. I don't want to start expecting any other matches because I know I'll only be disappointed by the final card.

[Unoriginal]

Is it just me who doesn't understand why the NAO are suddenly being put in so many matches? Unlike Goldust neither are in the best shape of their lives and Road Dogg especially was never the most athletic worker. I thought they looked way off the pace in their Smackdown match.

[Deanjam]

So they're back are they? Not been paying much attention to it all lately. I always preferred Road Dogg in the ring. He seemed to understand his limitations and stuck to a Southern brawling style. Gunn is one of the worst regular performers I've ever seen and yet was touted as 'the most athletic man in the WWF' for a while. Quite ridiculous.

[Ja'moke]

That reaction for Bryan at the end was unreal. How can they not put the title on him at Mania? Orton vs Cena vs Bryan seems to be the way to go, or if not that then have Lesnar win the title at Elimination Chamber and face Bryan at Mania.

[Subtle Mocking]

That reaction for Bryan at the end was unreal. How can they not put the title on him at Mania? Orton vs Cena vs Bryan seems to be the way to go, or if not that then have Lesnar win the title at Elimination Chamber and face Bryan at Mania.

I'm expecting either of these. There's absolutely no way that Bryan shouldn't be challenging for the title at Mania.

[vrailaine]

So, somehow the cable companies had no clue that WWE were gonna be taking away their PPV money until a few days before the announcement, that's pretty stunning to me.

Also, what's the deal with wrestlers ppv pay now? Wasn't that always a fair chunk of their income?

[up_the_hampipe]

Bryan was so fucking over in that final segment. Filled my heart with warmth. Didn't see all of Raw though, were the crowd especially good or is Bryan just super over now?

[rjd2]

I only bothered with the cage as well, supposedly they were dead all night and came alive for that. Bryan was great and so over.

Speaking on overness, the Orton and cena feud hasn't exactly taken off has it, you know you are desperate for heat when you bring in Cenas  father again.

[spanky]

The Orton/Cena rematch has that feeling that you'd traditionally get for a Rumble title match where it doesn't really matter because nobody's buying the PPV for that. With such a lacklustre buildup and no Rock to suck up to, this ought to make the rumble the show closer again as it should be every time.

[Pepotamo1985]

Hell of a final segment even though it seems they rushed through the storyline a bit.

He was originally meant to stay with them much longer, apparently - but "YES" chants broke out during a basketball game last Tuesday.

Vince must be absolutely hating the fact that Bryan cannot be buried, and he's effectively being forced by the sheer weight of public opinion into letting Bryan move towards Rock/Austin levels of stardom in the face of plans to keep Cena and Orton filling up the main event slot for the next 30 years. Vince's plan to prevent any one person from getting bigger than the company has backfired in the most spectacular possible way, and it's awesome - not only did Bryan get over almost completely through his own talent and charisma, but he's not an overly roided monster either.

On the subject of Orton/Cena, I was rewatching some RR matches in full on YouTube, and watched the (largely shitty) 2011 Rumble.

I urge any and all readers to visit this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBbIwPsO9vw - and skip to 1:10:17, for one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I've ever seen (totally going to get out more when I've pressed 'post'). Essentially, they try to recreate the Warrior/Hogan standoff from the 1990 Rumble with Orton and Cena...and the crowd just takes a massive, massive shit all over it.

The worst/best part is they don't even boo for the most part. There's just fucking crickets.

[Unoriginal]

How many times has Orton beaten up Cena's father now?

It's funny that Vince has had to elevate, not through his own desire, two of the most unfashionable guys in the company. If you had told Vince at the turn of the century that in less than fifteen years, two of the top guys would be a straight edge tattooed punk and a vegan who doesn't own a TV and cares about climate change and is below 6 foot, Vince would have assumed you were on acid.

[Spiteface]

I remember that bit in the 2011 Rumble well. Was that even in a particularly smarky city that year? Actually, if that was the case, there'd probably be thunderous boos.

I said before, one day those two (particularly Cena, as much as he wants us to think he's a cyborg) are not going to be able to go at all, and WWE might implode as a result.

I love that Bryan has gotten over in spite of, and not because of WWE's booking.  Remember when WWE used to be fine rolling with the punches, rather than refusing to push anything that wasn't 100% their invention?

[hummingofevil]

Ha ha. That Raw finale was class. They are really going to have to try hard to fuck this up aren't they.

Where we going with this for Wrestlemania? Bryan. Cena. Brock triple threat for the title with a Cena heel turn going 2 on 1 with Bryan winning out!!!

It would never happen but just imagine being Vince McMahon and being able to allow it to happen but then not doing it.

It's like being God but then deciding you Nowt better else to do than piss off your created Universe by causing floods or whatever.